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r/writingadvice on Reddit: She’d vs. she had: when to use

February 4, 2023 -

I’m unsure if this is a dumb question but is “She’d” usually used in speech? I read somewhere that it’s a spoken form of “she had” a while ago but couldn’t recall it correctly.

Like can write : “blah blah,” she’d said rather than: she had said

Top answer

1 of 4

She’d can be either a conjugation for “she had” or “she would”, like using it in past tense makes it “she had” and otherwise it would be “she would”. For your example, I think “she’d” sounds okay, but it depends on the tone and voice you use while writing. I prefer “she had”, but I don’t think “she’d” is grammatically wrong in that context.

2 of 4

Yes, "she'd" is used in speech. It's the contraction for "she had" or "she would," determined by context of what's said. Same with "I'd" or "he'd." Whether you choose to use contractions depends on how natural vs formal you want the writing to sound. Using the contractions will come across as more natural narration, like the narrator is speaking more directly. Not using them will come across as a little more formal. Which you choose is entirely based on personal preference for your writing style and what the story calls for. Note that, regardless of contraction usage, each version is past perfect, not past simple, tense.

San Jose State University

sjsu.edu › writingcenter › docs › handouts › Contractions.pdf pdf

Contractions [pdf]

you’d  you had; you would · she’ll  she will; she shall · you’ll  you will; you shall · she’s  she is; she has · you’re  you are · shouldn’t  should not · you’ve  you have · that’s  that is; that has · One contraction that is not on the above list ...

Discussions

Use of "had" contraction with a plural subject

Yes, you can make that contraction, but only when speaking. Nobody will understand what you mean if you write it down. Well, they might, but it looks funny. This goes for any noun. The written contraction only exists for pronouns. More on reddit.com

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November 1, 2022

Can "she's" mean "she has" in written english?

Nonsense, but not every instance of has can be contracted to 's. I disagree with u/nihilcupio , you can't write "She's two apples"; people also don't say that, as far as I know. "Has" in the sentence "She has two apples" is the main verb, meaning "possess". But if "has" is just an auxiliary verb to indicate tense ("She has found her dream guy"), it's perfectly OK to contract: "She's found her dream guy" is OK in spoken and written English. Here's a wikipedia link, not the most authoritative, but carries some weight: Contracted auxiliaries The section also explain that 's for does is very informal: "I like that guy. What's he do?" And this is indeed a sentence I would not write down unless rendering speech. More on reddit.com

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December 19, 2013

Could "she's" mean "she has"?

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